Magnetic tool looks viable for retrieving stone fragments.

The article reports on the development of a project at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center which shows a novel approach for reducing the number of small retained fragments following a ureteroscopic lithotripsy. It notes that such approach is made possible by rendering stone fragments paramagnetic through exposure to iron oxide-based microparticles. The research revealed that calcium oxalate stone fragments incubated with the microparticles could be picked up with a magnet.